Remember that other people may be totally wrong. But they don’t think so. Don’t condemn them. Any fool can do that. Try to understand them. Only wise, tolerant, exceptional people even try to do that. There is a reason why the other man thinks and acts as he does. Ferret out that reason – and you have the key to his actions, perhaps to his personality.

Try honestly to put yourself in his place. This principle has made guest appearances in almost every other principle so far. As I said in the beginning many principles will start to overlap and become a bit repetitious. This is a good thing as it will really drive home the key principles we should be applying when interacting with people. This principle is at the absolute HIGHEST IMPORTANCE when dealing with people. We must understand that even if other people are completely wrong, they DON’T think they are. They think they’re right. From their perspective they are acting logically.

So we must always try to see a situation from their point of view. We must ask ourselves, “How would I feel if I were in his shoes? How would I react if I were in his shoes? What is he thinking? Why does he not want to do this? Why does he not like that? What does he believe about this? How will he react if I say XYZ? What will he think if I do this or that? What impact will this have on his life? How will this affect him? How will this change his situation? What would he like to get from this situation? What is his ultimate goal here? What is he trying to get out of this?

If we do this and truly understand the other person’s motives, interests, ways of thinking etc. if we truly understand that person’s point of view, then everything becomes much easier. Of course this “understanding other people and seeing things from their point of view” won’t happen overnight. It’s a skill that must be trained like any other skill and I highly recommend you start developing that skill. It can save you a lot of time, energy, and frustration when dealing with other people.